You're in their DMs. We're in them.
— Tampax US (@Tampax) November 21, 2022
We are not the same.
Followers were outraged at this sentiment, which they claimed was "sexualizing" tampon usage.
"Peak patriarchy: a company making women's products insults its entire customer base and thinks this is OK. You utter creeps," one person shared.
"A women's period products company is getting off on the idea of their products being inserted in girls and women getting there first while men are chatting them up hoping for sex. Overtones of rape, [pedophilia], misogyny what a hat-trick," another agreed.
"So…A tampon is saying to a dude framed as a sexual rival to the tampon basically, 'hey, bro. You're too slow. I totally *hit* that already. How do you like THEM apples' And this is supposed to appeal to your customers in some way?" another person wrote.
"No, it's disgusting and creepy," another reaction read.
Many outraged users pointed out how girls as young as 11 were likely to use tampons, which they claimed made the sexual joke even more inappropriate.
The social media fight evolved into some users accusing critics of being "transphobes" for insisting on a boycott and taking offense to the joke.
"Has anyone else noticed that the people screaming #BoycottTampax aren't really upset about the joke? They're actually a bunch of transphobic bigots attacking a company that showed support for a group of people they like to be cruel to," one person wrote.
prior creepiness:
In September 2020, Tampax inspired controversy by posting a tweet that said, "Fact: Not all women have periods. Also a fact: Not all people with periods are women. Let's celebrate the diversity of all people who bleed!"